Thief who swiped a purse dropped by pensioner is jailed

A jobless woman was jailed for 16 weeks for running off with a purse dropped by a disabled OAP in a Hucknall street.

Cassandra Baxter, 32, was seen jumping a fence to get into a cemetery, Nottingham Magistrates’ Court heard. She denied theft but was found guilty after a trial.

Deputy District Judge Anita Price ordered Baxter to pay £700 prosecution costs to cover the trial and a government surcharge of £80.

The judge told her: “This was a disgraceful offence. You deliberately targeted a 76-year-old woman who suffers from disability issues and needs a walking frame.She was unable to do anything about the theft and you ran from the scene. The aggravating feature would be her disability. You caused her great anguish by causing her to attend court to give evidence.”

The hearing was told the purse contained £40 and the theft took place on Portland Road, Hucknall on March 24. The £20 purse and its £40 cash contents were later found and handed back to the pensioner.

Baxter is likely to be released after eight weeks in custody and will serve the other two months on licence and being supervised by probation officers.